Cry of the Planet
by OneWingedHeron53
Summary: AU: Five years later, something extraordinary has happened to the world. Evolution came along and mankind rejoiced. But it did not happen as expected. We all thought evolution would be the key for the advancement of mankind. We were wrong.
1. End of the World as we know it

**A little series I decided to do with mutants within School Rumble. No, it is not your typical mutants trying to hide their superpowers from the world, or mutants who yearn to rule the world or stop someone trying to rule the world. Read on, and you will see. Yakumo will serve as the narrator.**

**Quick Note: They are called the Mutated, not Mutant so don't bother pointing out that I mispelled it.**

**XoXoX**

**Prolouge: The End as we know it.**

**Yakumo:** That time has come. The time the scientists all over the world were waiting for. We've reached the next millenia and now achieved evolution. The problem? It wasn't the evolution we were hoping for. My sister went to America with Kurasama under Harima's guidance and approval. I wonder how she is doing now. I wonder how it is in America. Is it safe? Are they free? Are they able to sleep knowing they would awake? Does it even exist now? If so, where's my sister? I don't want to be all alone in this world. I must see her again. Want to know why I can't? Well...let's start with the first month of the attack. Five years have passed since I last seen my sister. I'm now a young woman at the age of twenty. We were forced to live underground for a while when THEY attacked. Who are THEY you ask? Well, evolution, as mentioned earlier, has reached us and many humans evolved. But it wasn't the kind of evolution we were hoping for. They became feral, attacking any in sight. In place of their nails were claws sharp enough to cut through diamond. Then came the varieties. We dubbed them The Mutated. Poor souls blessed with evolution, but cursed all the same. Let's go ahead a month after they started...

**Day 31**

Harima and Hanai stood back to back firing off their AK-47's at creatures that proceeded to attack without rest. After graduation, both Harima and Hanai enrolled into the army with several other students. Still training, they had little knowledge in many technologies that the army were to use.

Slackers; AKA, Zombies. They were dubbed Zombies because of their similiar behavior. They stagger around restless until the first sign of heartbeats occured within their vision. They were humans who have evolved, replacing their nails with claws. They were very common and thus had many appearances. The evolution also lowered their thought process, so they'll immediately attack at the first sign of life, even if said life was across a cliff. They'll march straight off.

"I'm reloading, watch my back!" Hanai requested, crouching while pulling out a magazine from his back pocket.

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Harima muttered tired. They were fighting these Mutated ever since they left the damn chamber.

"I got the supplies." Yoshidayama shouted, being accompanied by Akira and Fiyuki who were still dressed in formal wear since they weren't in the army like Hanai and Harima was. Yoshidayama held onto a SMG with a backpack slung over his back which contained frozen food.

All of a sudden, crows started to caw around the area.

Death Birds; AKA, Hellbirds. Crows who were affected by the evolution. While still appearing nearly the same, notable changes were glowing red eyes and longer wings. While not as dangerous as Slackers, they are often accompanied by another variant. The evolution also granted them blades at the edge of their wings which cuts air pressure, allowing them to fly faster and effectively kill an unaware human.

"Watch out for the birds and Death on Wings." Hanai whispered.

Death on Wings; AKA, Blind Assassins. Humans who have evolved more effectively then Slackers. Along their arms are stiff feather-like appendages, allowing them to glide. On their wrists are long scales which are sharp and tough as diamond. They effectively use them as swords and are more of a threat then Slackers. One of the notable appearances is that their eyes have completely smoldered, only having skin in place of it. They hide it by tying clothing over where their eyes used to be and wearing deep hoods. Blind Assassins indeed. They hunt by sound and are accompanied by the Deathbirds who alerts them of any presences.

With supplies strapped around, the five survivors slowly and silently went around the building. However, they weren't aware how many of those blind abominations were around and came close to one just around the corner who was slowly marching towards them. The group fell silent and quietly walked to the sides until Fiyuki kicked a pebble which struck a nearby can.

With a sharp growl, the Mutated slowly walked their direction, scraping the left scale sword along the ground making sparks and alerting the others. It stood in front of them, not making any other moves still confirming the noise.

Harima and Hanai slowly reached the katana's they were given when they enrolled in the army. They tried to pull it out quietly, but failed when they pulled it an inch making the scraping sound that a sword makes when drawn.

That was all the noise it needed to hear as it swiftly raised its left arm with a roar. Fiyuki stood in fear as the blade was lowered and eventually stopped by Hanai who guarded with his sword.

"Get to the vehicle! Me and Harima will catch up!" Hanai ordered which Fiyuki eagerly agreed and got up and began to run along with Yoshidayama and Akira.

Hanai parried the Assassin's blow and it spun around to blindly at Hanai's neck causing him to duck down to avoid it. He then slashed at the Mutated and spun backwards flipping his sword around and stabbed it. For safety measures, he pulled it out fiercely and spun again, this time decapitating it.

Behind him in the air was another Assassin with its arms spread apart and with a horrifying screech, leapt onto Hanai crossing its swords. Hanai lifted his katana in front of him and blocked the blow, but the momentum of the Mutated caused him to fall back.

With another screech onto Hanai's face, the Assassin lifted its left arm with intention of ending his life. Hanai only stared with confidence.

Just then, a hand gripped tightly onto the Assassin's wrist and it looked over at the man grabbing it. As it looked however, its arm was already cut off and in its pain, it didn't see its own blade swinging at it.

Harima gave a smugged look as he still held onto the Assassin's dismembered arm. The Assassin fell lifelessly onto the ground and Hanai got himself up.

Without word, the two left the area towards the vehicle where the others were waiting.

Quickly strapping in, they ran over any Mutated that tried to stop them and sped along the Mutated filled streets, relaxing that they got this over with.

However, a deep roar caused that feeling to drop as six Mutated jumped in front of them.

"Aw hell, Jumpers." Harima pointed out while Hanai hit the breaks, causing it to skid. The other three in the back quickly braced themselves.

Jumpers; AKA, the Jumping Wolves. They have Wolves in the name because they hunt in a pack with a leader commanding them. They are another variety that are different then their blind cousins. Their arms and legs have highly mutated and that it is more of a bulging muscle then limb. This allows them to jump great distances and able to punch through brick walls without recoil. They are also able to scale along walls without any footing. The one with the biggest muscles are often the leader. Unlike the Assassin's, they are not blind.

The vehicle skid, but the momentum didn't slow them down enough as the Jumper in the middle reared its gigantic fist.

"Brace for impact!" Hanai quickly commanded.

The Jumper then punched the front of the car, causing it to flip over great distances. The vehicle landed back onto the wheels, but even so, the punch had greatly destroyed the engine and the airbags went off a few seconds late. Nevertheless, the five only sat dazed.

"Come on, we need to get moving." Hanai replied and quickly fell out of the car in his daze. He quickly shook it off and got back onto his feet.

Harima shook his head before leaving his side and went to the back and helped the others out of their dazes. He helped Yoshidayama and Akira out of the car with Fiyuki got himself out of the other side. "Keep running and don't try climbing the buildings. I'll message for air support to pick us up." He instructed in which the others went without question.

Hanai kept firing at the Jumping Mutateds, until the annoying clicking noise occured. "Harima, I need a clip!" He asked outloud.

"I'm on my last one! Use your underbarrel shotgun!" Harima pointed out and slowly walked backwards while shooting the Mutateds.

One Jumper got passed Harima's line of fire and jumped its way towards Hanai who wide eyed as its deep roar occured. Still not frozen in fear, Hanai gripped the underbarrel shotgun and pulled the trigger, managing to take it out with a headshot.

Seeing the one with the bigger muscles, Hanai immediately took notice that he took out the leader. With the leader dead, the other Jumpers immediately took off.

Harima gave a smirk off satisfaction and turned towards Hanai, "Come on, Four Eyes. It won't be long until they elect a new leader." He mentioned and ran to join with the others.

"Yeah." Hanai quietly muttered and looked at the Jumper again. Hearing the similiar roar, he looked ahead and immediately ran up to catch up with Harima.

They eventually regrouped within an empty house which they were able to barricade so that the Mutated won't come in.

"We need to be picked up. Our vehicle has been wrecked a couple miles from the desinated factory." Harima spoke into the comm link.

The three non-soldiers sat onto the floor in a corner while Hanai walked along the walls, holding onto the underbarrell shotgun on his AK-47. Yoshidayama looked towards Akira, "Hey, Akira. Do you remember those old movies where a man and woman have sex in the middle of the film?" He asked either boldly or foolishly.

As usual, Akira didn't make a gesture, "Yeah. So?" She answered coldly.

"Sooo...do you want to?" Yoshidayama pleadingly asked.

"Don't those people usually die after they finish?" She pointed out.

Yoshidayama then looked away, "What I'm saying is, if we're going to die, it might as well not be alone." He replied, still trying to persuade her.

Akira then stood up, "I'm not planning on dying." She rejected his offer and walked towards Harima.

Yoshidayama only looked down disappointingly, Fiyuki then looked at him, "You still have us if your feeling lonely." He pointed out, mentioning Nara, Ganji, Imadori, and himself.

"Do you have two lumps on your chest?" Yoshidayama snapped towards him.

Fiyuki then frowned, "Have you ever been with a woman after highschool?" He asked curiously.

Yoshidayama remained quiet and looked down disappointingly, "They all rejected me. Won't even look at me." He muttered in a shaky voice.

"Wow, do I feel sorry for you." Fiyuki muttered sarcastically.

"Is it the hair? Please tell me it's the hair. I'll shave it if I have to." Yoshidayama continued his little rant.

Fiyuki then backed away, "Man, you really turned into a sad little man." He replied.

"Enough talk you two. We have to get out of here." Hanai spoke out.

"We're in a middle of a zombie apocalypse. How are we suppose to get out of here?" Yoshidayama pointed out.

"Technically, they are not zombies." Akira pointed out, joining up along with Harima who was typing into a little device.

"I beg to differ."

"We have to fight our way to the railway stations, not far from here. There we have to start it and travel along another ten or so miles on the railway, give or take. After that, an Osprey will arrive and pick us up, we'll then be home free." Harima replied, putting his device away.

"Oh? And when did the biggest badass learn those words?" Yoshidayama snapped back.

"These are the official instructions. I'm just repeating them." Harima quickly pointed out.

"And when did you start taking orders?" Yoshidayama again snapped. This whole fighting to survive noticably taking its toll on him.

"I'm just doing what I have to do to survive. I don't care much about the military." Harima answered, noticably losing his cool.

"Such a phrase could cause you your rank First Lieutenant." Hanai butted in, which also started to make Harima lose his cool.

"Back off Four Eyes! You may be a higher rank then me, but that doesn't mean I'll follow your every order." Harima snapped back in a rage.

"As your Captain, I order you to shut up." Hanai ordered.

"That order is bull!" Harima countered.

Fiyuki looked down to his side and scratched the back of his head, "Every day for us." He muttered to himself.

"What died and crawled up your ass?" Harima quickly insulted.

"You may have taken Yakumo from me, but my spirit will never waver!" Hanai answered.

"What? You still onto that? I keep telling you, there's nothing going on between us." Harima answered bluntly.

"Then tell me. Why was she sleeping in your room for the last few nights? Why is she always near you every time we are back?" Hanai asked, implying that he's been snooping around lately.

"Give the girl a break! She keeps coming to me for comfort. She claims her sister is all she has left in this world and she doesn't even know if she's alive!" He pointed out.

"Now even Akira is getting all warmy with you. What's the matter Kenji? Afraid you'll die alone?" Hanai pointed out. Akira on the other hand was looking at the device.

"Akira? So that's why you rejected my offer!" Yoshidayama snapped out towards her.

Fiyuki still continued to look down, "He really is a sad little man." He muttered.

"Akira? I don't know her story." Harima quickly threw out. "Before you say anything, here." Harima then threw three extra magazine clips which he revealed to still have five spares. "Reserve your ammo next time!" He added quickly.

Before Hanai could say anything, Akira quickly broke the tension between the two; also ignoring Yoshidayama, "Guys? What's this strange energy reading?" She asked, and showed them the device which was showing red and bleeping in quick paces.

"Oh no." Hanai muttered.

"What is it?" Fiyuki asked, noticing the tension Hanai and Harima put on.

Just then, a purple swirl appeared at the side of them.

"Guys?" Yoshidayama quickly tensed up and gripped his SMG tightly.

"Reapers." Harima answered their questions with equal fear as Hanai.

Reapers; AKA, Blade-Wielding Assassins. One of the higher species of Mutated. They appear almost human while only having unnatural eyes and a noticable tear on their ribs. They could also control gravity and space so they can teleport. They are also one of the smartest Mutateds around, having enough knowledge on how to fight using a scythe, as well as hand-to-hand combat should it ever let go of its scythe. They also dress in dark robes with hoods almost concealing their faces, which earned them the name Reapers. They continually teleport and also have the ability to regenerate any wounds inflicted upon them. They are also deaf and are known to make no noises. To date, no one was able to defeat a Reaper.

"We have to get out of here now!" Hanai quickly ordered and they immediately gathered the supplies and ran out of the building to see the area completely deserted.

"That explains why it was quiet out here." Harima quickly pointed out while running.

"Why?" Yoshidayama asked shakingly.

"We were able to determine that any Mutateds will make room for Reapers and not come within its vicinity." Akira explained and looked back to see the Mutated step out of its portal.

The Reaper then looked around, its long unkempt hair blowing in the wind. It's yellow cat-slit eyes focusing on the five heat signatures that was running. Gripping its scythe tighter, it jumped back where another portal appeared and it disappeared in it.

As they were running, the portal quickly opened up and the Reaper jumped out of it, having its eyes glowing within its robe. The five immediately skid to a stop terrified.

"What now?" Yoshidayama asked, aiming his gun at the Reaper.

Harima quickly looked to the side, "Through the alleyways. Keep running and don't look back." He ordered. The five then continued to run along through the alleys, with the Reaper occasionally appearing to block their routes, which they doubled back and ran another way.

Harima then spotted the railway, "Quick! Into the buildings!" He ordered and opened the building, only to come face to face with the Reaper.

Using its glowing cat eyes, it froze Harima in fear and it quickly rose its scythe with the gleam in its eye.

"Watch out!" Hanai shouted and pulled Harima back, barely dodging the attack. Hanai then quickly stabbed the Reaper in the chest with his sword. The Reaper then recoiled in pain, looking at the sword, before teleporting away, taking the blade with it.

"You killed it!" Yoshidayama shouted in joy.

"It'll be back." Hanai mentioned

"What? But you stabbed it right in the chest." He pointed out.

"Reapers are known to teleport away once it recieves a fatal wound. It will then heal its wound through regeneration then it will come back for more." Hanai explained the advantage Reapers have.

Harima then fell onto his knees and holding his chest, groaning in pain.

"Harima?" Akira asked out, suprisingly having a little worry tone in her voice.

Harima then removed his hands to show a nasty cut, starting from his right breast and stretching towards his left rib. "Damn bastard caught me off guard." He muttered between breaths and blood dropped through his hand like rain.

"Come on man, your tougher then this. You can make it." Hanai called out, along with suprisingly little worry in his tone.

"Heh, your actually worried for me?" Harima called out and took another deep breath and stood up, "I'll make it, for now. But we better hurry." He suggested.

"Likewise, come on." Hanai ordered.

After a few minutes, with it being suprisingly quiet, they had no trouble reaching the railway.

"It's suprisingly going good" Yoshidayama pointed out as they haven't encountered a single Mutated ever since their encounter with the Reaper.

Akira also took notice of this and looked up, "Maybe the Mutated don't know that the Reaper has left." She pointed out a theory.

"Or maybe they are biding their time." Fiyuki mentioned another theory.

"Or maybe the Reaper is just waiting for the right opportunity to strike." Hanai replied.

After the first few minutes, Harima started to slow to the point where Hanai needed to help him just to keep up with the group. "Listen, if the Reaper does attack or the other Mutated start to swarm, just leave me behind." Harima asked, breathing in the couple of breaths.

"Don't give us any of that talk now, we're almost there." Hanai ordered.

Harima only gave a tiny smile as they reached the railway.

Fiyuki and Yoshidayama plied the doors open and let Akira and the two soldiers in before squeezing themselves in and the door snapped shut again.

Hanai seated Harima down to a seat and took out a travel kit and opened Harima's shirt. "Hold still, I'm going to stitch your wound." He replied and took out a thread and needle.

Akira stared at the scar and back at Harima who was starting to fall into a slumber. She didn't think she'd developed anything for the thug as she did not want to get in the way of his desires for Tenma or Eri and Yakumo's desires for him. Then after highschool, both him and Hanai enrolled for the army and thought Harima would be sent back within a month or so. Suprisingly, he would've been Captain Rank if he didn't try a suicide mission that saved Hanai's life, which nearly killed him and his squadron. Either bravery or recklessness, Akira did not know what to think if he got himself killed. Then it struck her, even though she didn't want it. She felt a little desire for the deliquent, but she still stood her ground of not getting in the way for those that wanted him. Then the Mutated came along and this started to stir between them since the 'old gang' was in a single chamber with them being assigned nightwatches. Actually, when Harima saved her from a Mutated that they had no data about, that's when she finally realized that she may love him. Well, he had to smack her to free her from the mind playing the thing was doing, but nevertheless.

Realizing what she was thinking, she shook her head clear of the thoughts and stood up, "I'm going to see if the controls are still functional." She replied and started to walk towards the controls ahead.

Fiyuki pointed his head towards Akira, which Yoshidayama got up and both him and Fiyuki went to accompany her.

Hanai carefully placed the stitchings on the deliquent who would often flinch from the pain, "Sorry, is it bothering you?" Hanai asked.

"Don't worry about it. It's keeping me awake." Harima reassured. Hanai then returned to his work. "Hey, Four eyes." Harima called out who responded with a grunt, "Do you think Tenma and Kurasuma are alive?" He asked. Ever since this Mutated came along, Harima couldn't get his mind off Tenma or suprisingly Kurasuma.

"Well, America already had the biggest army at the time, so they are probably within a chamber like ours." Hanai reassured, putting in the final stitching.

"If I don't make it, tell Yakumo I'll say hello to Tenma should I meet her on the otherside." Harima replied between breaths.

"Hey, don't talk like that. Your going to make it and I'm sure that Tenma is still alive." Hanai replied, smacking his face lightly. "Now come on, the stitching isn't good, but it should last until we get back to base where you'll recieve proper medical care." Hanai replied, helping Harima up and starting to walk where the others were.

Back to the trio, Akira was looking at the controls, wondering how to turn it on.

"Is it working?" Fiyuki asked, looking over her observation.

Akira sighed and placed two wires together, "Suprisingly, this thing is. But we need keys for it." She answered and opened the control panel.

Yoshidayama then walked up, "So we need to find the keys to get it working?" He confirmed.

"Are you volunteering?" Akira asked sarcastically.

"What? No way!" Yoshidayama snapped back.

"Is there any other way to get it on?" Fiyuki asked.

"What do you think I am doing?" Akira answered and placed two wires together and the transportation lit up, coming to life.

A thought then hit Yoshidayama, "Wait, if the Reapers can teleport, then would it be a good idea to use the railtrain?" He asked curiously.

"From what we learned, we'll be safe. Reapers can't teleport onto moving objects, otherwise, it would attack any forms of rescue." Akira explained, just then her comm link activated.

"Akira! Start the ride. The Reaper is trying to teleport in." Hanai shouted into the comm link, which Akira pulled down the switch and the train jerked slowly before picking up speed.

At the back, a purple portal opened up at the back, but before the Reaper could step out, the train moved passed it and the Mutated jumped onto the rail tracks instead. Looking at the moving object, it growled in anger and rose its unwielding arm and other purple portals opened up behind it.

Out of the portals jumped several creatures, some landing on all fours before taking off into a full sprint, some twisting its body in abnormal positions before standing straight, looking almost human, some taking flight with skin stretched across its arms like that of a bat. The Reaper just stood intimidatingly as the Lesser Mutated ran after the railtrain.

As Harima and Hanai ran along, the bat-like Mutated slammed onto the side and poked its head inside the window with a snarl. Hanai responded to it by shooting it with his shotgun. "Watch out for Keese" Hanai pointed out.

Keese. Although appearing fierce, it's nothing to be afraid of as it can be taken down with ease. Keese were humans that evolved, having their ears pointing upward. Its eyes have noticably grew smaller and between the side of its body and its arms is skin that stretched along and allowing flight. It's not blind but is shortsighted and moves about with echolocations. They are often accompanied by Jumpers and Twisted. These three are known to attack in huge groups together. They aren't given a class themselves, so it's simply known as the uncommon common Mutated.

Jumpers, Mutated that have enchance leg muscles that enables them to jump long distances. They see by heat, but aren't too reliable on their thought process and doesn't attack unless provoked or other special means. They'll try to pounced onto a human, knocking them down and steal an object or fling them a distance. They have no fingers, and as such, doesn't claw or punched at a victim they landed on. Their feet also evolved to the point where it can use it as hands, which they'll grab objects with should they pounce on someone. Like the Keese, they attack groups along with the Keese and Twisted.

Twisted. Mutated whose body can twist to abnormal positions. It's also possible for them to twist their torso a full 360 degrees and then some. Along with their body, their limbs can stretch up to 30 ft. They are also the most durable of the three, being able to take a few ten bullets before going down. They also use their flexibility to dodge upcoming assaults. Like the Keese and Jumpers, they hunt in groups along with them.

All in all, the three groups mostly appear when a Reaper summons them. Being the least common, they also have no alternative names.

After passing at lease five train cars, Hanai looked back and saw that the Mutated have breached inside and were currently heading towards them.

Hanai then looked at the bottom and saw a loose panel. Opening it, he saw a couple of wires and grabbed them all, pulling it until it snapped. This caused the back cars to loosen and seperate from the ones Hanai and Harima were in. The duo watched as the train cars began to stumble and tip under the momentum. Two hands then stretched out and grabbed onto the edge of the car the two were in. They stared as the arms began to retract and a Twisted came into view. Reaching its original length, the Twisted only stared at the two and roared in their presence.

Hanai then scowled and walked up to it, pulling out a Desert Eagle in the process. He then proceed to empty the clip onto the face of the Twisted. Even after empty the clip, it just readjusted its head and continued to snarl at the two. Putting away his pistol, Hanai pulled out his AK-47 and gripped the underbarrell shotgun and shot it once in the face. Again, the Mutated pulled its now heavily disformed face and snarled.

Hanai then growled, "What's it take to kill these things?" He questioned.

"Shoot the chest." Harima called out under breaths.

Hanai then aimed for the chest and shot again from the shotgun, this time the Twisted keeled over from the pain and rolled onto the tracks before dying.

"Finally." Hanai muttered frusterated that he wasted a good couple of rounds.

They then saw a huge group of Jumpers appearing from the wreckage and jumping towards them. "We got to keep moving." Hanai pointed out and the two men went ahead.

Back to the trio in the front, they met their own problems as the more special Mutated appeared, more specifically, the Blind Assassins. Each gliding towards the train car.

"The noise must have attracted them." Akira pointed out as she started to open fire at the Mutated.

Fiyuki immediately took one down, "Try aiming for the wings." He mentioned as he noticed they'll slow down or even fall if their arms are damaged.

Yoshidayama immediately took this advice and managed to double shot two of the Mutated and caused them to crash into each other before falling down. "Ha! Take that you stupid blind monsters." He taunted his kills.

"Don't get to cocky." Akira warned and noticed that three passed their sights and landed on the top of their train car. "Get down!" She warned, which Fiyuki immediately complied.

Yoshidayama on the other hand was still trying to get another few shots, which the Mutated above took advantage of and stabbed at his direction. Surprised, Yoshidayama dropped his gun and took a few steps, dodging the blades until one caught him in the back, scratching against his skin and causing blood to drip out. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal strike, but would require some attention when they get back.

"Yoshidayama!" Fiyuki called out and tackled him onto the floor where three blades appeared where he was.

Akira then aimed her PP90M1 and opened fire at the top of the two boys where she estimated where the Mutated were. She then heard a satisfying screech, marking she killed two of the three. However, along with the holes made from their blades and the holes from her gunfire, the last Blind Assassin smashed into the car, screeching as it mades its entrance.

It then began its assault by swiping towards Akira, who used her gun as a blunt and blocked the strike. It then thrusted its other blade, which Akira stepped sideways and dodged it. The Mutated then lifted its left blade and swung again, causing Akira to bend down to dodge it. She then twirled out of the way when it swiped its other blade up. The Mutated then spun around and swung its left blade at leg level. Akira blocked it with her gun, causing the blade to lodge in. The Mutated then stabbed with its other blade, which Akira dodged and grabbed onto the wrist. Akira then placed her foot on its knee and lifted herself up, using its arms as leverage and used both of her feet to kick it in the chest, causing to stumble back. Akira then flipped herself up and pulled out two G18ès and opened fire on it. After ending both clips on it, she confirmed it was dead.

Fiyuki and Yoshidayama stumbled out of the corner where the Mutated forced them to back into. Yoshidayama was noticably recoiling in pain with blood dripping from his back. "It's not that bad. No need to worry for me." He pointed out.

"You okay?" Fiyuki asked Akira.

"I'll be fine." Akira answered and bent down to pick up her PP90M1, "Not much can be said about my gun though." She added, as she observed the damage at the tip, making it useless.

Harima and Hanai then arrived, "How are things going here?" Hanai asked, resting Harima on the panel.

"We managed to take down several Blind Assassins, but it's not going well." Akira answered, throwing her broken gun down.

"There are uncommon Mutated coming from the back." Harima answered with a groan. Blood was starting to flow again from the poor stitching Hanai gave.

Just then, another Blind Assassin stood at the top of the car and roared inside. Before any of them could react, it was shot in the shoulder, which was followed by another shot in the head.

"Who was that?" Yoshidayama asked.

_"Anyone call for a pickup?"_ A feminine voice called through the comm link.

_"Climb onto the top, we can pick you up in five minutes, give or take."_ Another voice called through.

Hanai then smiled, "Major Asou and Mikoto!" He called out, "I like your timing."

_"Unfortunately, you have to hurry up. A long tunnel is ahead and you'll most likely not make it through. I'd say its 15 minutes away." _Asou pointed out.

Harima then opened his comm link, "Well, in that case. Your timing sucks." Harima retorted.

_"Yeah, sorry about that. Had technical difficulties with the technology malfunctions." _Asou answered back.

"Can you scout the area for us?" Hanai asked.

_"I see several Blind Assassin's ahead while countless uncommon Mutated are behind, both inside and outside. We can provide cover, but you need to hurry." _Mikoto answered.

"Alright, see you in ten minutes tops." Hanai replied, then turned his link off and turned to the others. "We all set?" Hanai asked. He was responded by Akira reloading her G18's, Fiyuki taking the safety off his PM-9, Yoshidayama slinging the pack of supplies around his back and readying his P90, and Harima flexing his neck. "Let's go."

The group then climbed onto the top, all immediately meeting the huge gust of wind, causing them to stumble a bit before regaining their footing and senses. They then began to head down the train car where the uncommon Mutated began to snarl at their prey. Thuddings from the back also indicated that more Blind Assassin's arrived from behind. Hanai and Harima faced the Blind Assassin's, while Akira, Fiyuki, and Yoshidayama faced the uncommons.

Hanai then reached for his sword, only to realize that the Reaper has taken it last time. "Here, use mine." Harima offered, pulling his sword out and handing it over. "Can't really do much movement in this condition anyways." He added.

Hanai then walked ahead and gripped the sword in both hands. Harima then pulled the safety off of his AK-47 and aimed at them. The other three also aimed their guns at the uncommons.

After a while of fighting, the helicopter came full into view and Mikoto saw through her scope that they were easily getting overwhelmed, "Eri! Man the mounted gun!" She shouted.

"I'm on it!" Eri called back.

As the fighting on the train started becoming one-sided due to Fiyuki losing his gun by a Jumper and running low on both of his 44 Magnums, Yoshidayama already out, Akira shoving most of them back with her empty G18's, Harima completely out of ammo, and Hanai showing signs of fatigue.

_"Get down!"_ Eri's voice called out through the comm links.

"Eri?" Harima called out in surprised.

The four immediately got down while Harima was caught off guard until the helicopter opened up and Eri was sighted on the machine already pressing the trigger.

"Oh shi-" Harima cursed, but cut himself off by jumping down and Eri fired at the Mutateds, causing all of them to back away.

Harima then looked up, "Watch it, blondie!" He shouted through the commotion.

"Your fault, Whiskers!" Eri retorted back.

"Now's not the time, children." Asou called out from the pilot's seat.

On top of a building, the Reaper watched as the Osprey caused all the Mutated to flee. Growling in annoyance, it lifted its scythe and jumped down, cutting a large pole nearby which started to make a beeline towards the helicopter.

Mikoto was the first one to notice, "Watch out!" She shouted as Asou looked at the side and gasped in suspense.

He slowed the Osprey as well as moving away from the train. The pole smacked one of the propeller's which caused the Osprey to stumble away for a moment. Asou began to curse to himself, trying to regain control. "Come on." He muttered quietly.

"What was that?" Eri asked, climbing back onto her seat.

Mikoto then looked back onto the train, "A Reaper." She muttered in defeat.

Back to the group, who were looking at the Osprey, hoping Asou will manage to regain control of it. The hope was cut off when a thud occured nearby. Looking at the source, their faces immediately paled as they saw the Reaper from before.

The Reaper grin sadistically as it began to slowly walk towards them, twirling its scythe behind.

Being on a moving object, it was already robbed of its advantage of teleportation, however it also caught them at a disadvantage of being helpless without ammo and tired. It smiled in amusement as the group slowly backed away, except for Fiyuki who was frozen in fear.

"I got it!" Asou called out, stabilizing the Osprey. "Propeller one is down and the mounted gun has malfunctioned, but no damage whatsoever." He reported.

"Well, fly back there right away." Eri called out.

"Right."

The Reaper rose its scythe as it neared Fiyuki and roared as it brought down its scythe. A bullet then penetrated its left hand causing it to roar in pain instead. It then looked at the source and saw Mikoto armed with a MSR, pulling back the bolt for another shot, which penetrated its other hand, causing it to let go of its scythe, which fell off the train.

"Snap out of it!" Eri called out, which knocked some sense in the group.

With recovered sense, the group then shook their heads and started to run back.

"Asou, we could really use that pick up now." Hanai called into the link.

_"Make it to the back. We'll pick you up before the tunnel shows up."_ Asou suggested.

"Make it fast." Hanai then turned off his link.

"We're going in." Asou replied and moved the Osprey towards the end of the train.

The Reaper, despite being weaponless, it still advanced towards the group. It began to run as the group also ran, still persistent on catching them.

They reached the end of the train, where Asou parked just besides the end and Akira, Fiyuki, and Yoshidayama jumped aboard safely. Harima's stitch tore off as he was running and was beginning to slow down to the pointed where Hanai had to help him. Just on the second to last train car, Harima kneeled over in pain with blood dripping heavily.

The Reaper then jumped into the air and reared both fists.

"Come on, we're almost there." Hanai replied and forced Harima to get up and move, barely dodging the attack made by the Reaper, which managed to dent the surface. The duo then jumped aboard and Asou piloted the Osprey away from the train.

On board, Harima fumbled towards a case and opened it, revealing a Stinger. He then gripped it and moved towards the door and aimed at the train, "Have a piece of this." He called out and fired the rocket at the engine train, causing a chain of explosions.

The Reaper looked ahead and widened its eyes, being flung into the air by the sudded jump. Before it landed into the explosion, it wrapped its arms and a teleportation portal appeared, sucking it in.

"Ahh, it got away." Harima announced, before gripping his chest again, dropping the Stinger and falling over, passing out from blood loss.

"Harima!" Hanai called out. "Hang in there" He replied to the unconscience Harima.

**Back at base**

Yakumo ran towards the infirmary where she recieved news that Harima was injured. "How is he?" She asked Tae who smiled at her arrival.

"He lost a lot of blood, but luckily Akira was able to provide some." She answered.

"Can I see him?" She asked.

"We moved him to his room, but he's unconscience." She answered and put on gloves, "Now if you excuse me, I have to tend to my other patient." She added with a snap of the rubber gloves.

Yoshidayama then bursted out of the room, "He's getting away! Stop him!" Asou requested. This was answered with Nara and Fiyuki tackling him down and Ganji came up and grabbed both of his arms tightly and carried him over.

"Don't stick needles into me! It's not that bad!" Yoshidayama protested, kicking helplessly under Ganji's grip.

"Yes, it's not that bad." Asou answered, "But unless we stitched it, your risking an infection that could paralyze you!" He added as he was pulled in.

"Yoshidayama then pouted, "Oh, that's a load of bull-" Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by the door slamming shut.

Tae then put on a soldier's helmet, "This is going to get messy." She then charged into the room like a soldier going to war.

Yakumo only stared dumbfounded as the silhouettes showed Tae with a needle sticking it into Yoshidayama which was responded by screaming of a nine year old.

Shaking it off, she walked out of the infirmary and walked down the halls until she reached Harima's room. Turning the door knob quietly, she opened the door and saw Harima lying on his bed quietly asleep. Harima was without a shirt, so it showed the scar and stitching in clear view. Gasping quietly at the sight, Yakumo walked towards the bed and traced the scar quietly.

Harima then flinched at the touch and opened his eyes in pain. Yakumo then removed her hand and bowed, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She immediately apoligized.

"I seriously thought I wasn't going to wake up." Harima confessed, still groaning in pain.

"I was told you lost a lot of blood. Akira provided some for you." Yakumo pointed out.

Harima closed his eyes again, "Really? I have to thank her later." He groaned the words, "How bad does it look?" He asked, referring to his wound.

Yakumo stared at the wound, "It doesn't look that bad, maybe it'll heal in a couple of days." She answered. In truth, she didn't know how long it'll take to heal, but she remarked to herself that it's going to leave a mark.

"Well, that's good."

Yakumo then lowered her face, "Harima?" She called out, which was answered with a grunt, "Do you think, my sister and Kurasama are still alive?" She asked.

Harima took a while to think, "Of course they are. They are probably just waiting to hear from here." He answered. He didn't really know if they are alive, he hoped that they will be alright.

Yakumo didn't feel any satisfaction from his words, but decided against it to ask more questions in his state. She then grabbed a MP9 from her back and settled it onto the table near his bed. This caused Harima to let out a small painful laugh. "What's so funny?" She asked curiously.

"It's just the sight of you with a gun." He answered. This caused her to lower her head. "Your the last person I'd expect with a gun, let alone shoot it." He continued. This caused her to turn pink. "Even with a sniper, you still miss the targets." He added which then caused her to look up.

"Well..." She stammered, trying to spit out the words, "It's just that I never thought that I would fire a gun. Even if I'm to pretend to shoot a Mutated at the target practice, I close my eyes every time when I shoot the gun." She explained her reason for missing the shots. "The Mutated were humans. That alone causes me to think twice before shooting." She added.

"Tell you what. When I heal, I'll show you how to shoot a gun. Cure or no cure. At one point, your going to have to kill a Mutated, or get killed by it." Harima answered, "I'm sorry to say this, but in this state of the world now, it's kill or be killed. I don't want to force you, but I would hate to lose you in this world" He added, which caused Yakumo to lower her head in embarrassment, "You want to see your sister, don't you?" He asked.

Yakumo then lifted her head again, "Yes." She answered.

"I promise you, we'll find her." Harima promised, "Now if you excuse me. I got to get back to sleep." He added and closed his eyes.

Yakumo smiled as he began to snore, "Good night. Kenji." She muttered to herself quietly.

**XoXoXoXoX**

Finally got this started. Now let me the moment of explaining the idea of the story.

For starters, I first thought of the Mutated several months back on an original story I created before. I wanted to share the Mutated online, but I didn't want to bring in the original, so I decided to use a franchise to adapt into this world. I chose School Rumble for various reasons.

One being that out of all the franchises I know, School Rumble is the only franchise that doesn't use any form of magic or abnormal phenomons. Huge captain and Harima's stories aside. Two, I would've used the Super Smash Brothers franchise to use, but I wanted the Mutated to stand out, which would be difficult with an elf who can use magic, a puffball that could eat anything, a plumber who can shoot fireballs, etc. Three, I always wanted to try to make School Rumble adapt into a world where they are forced to fight for survival.

For reasons stated above, I finally settled into using School Rumble as my guinea pig.

Being my guinea pig, many things that happened above are random. Some being Akira developing feelings for Harima, Yoshidayama being more sex-proned, (Although he gets rejected all the time) Fiyuki being a more sensible man instead of trying to get upskirt shots, Yakumo staying with Harima for comfort, (Would you stay with the man/woman closest to you for comfort if your family are somewhere far away and not knowing they are alive?) and Hanai being...well, being more Hanai. I did try to leave their more memorable personalities in, such as the rivalry between Hanai and Harima, as well as Eri and Harima. Akira still being quiet and sarcastic. Yoshidayama still being a pervert. (Although it seems he was able to control his blood squirts now)

More on backstory; Harima, Hanai, and apparently Asou has enrolled in the army after school. Harima is First Lieutenant and Hanai being Captain in Ground Forces and Asou being Major in Air Forces. The others featured in this chapter were merely civilians when the evolution started.

There are four classes of Mutated plus the Uncommon Mutateds.

Uncommons are the Jumpers, Keese, and Twisted.  
Commons are the Slackers.  
Rare are the Jumping Wolves, and Blind Assassins.  
Animal Mutated are the Death Birds.  
Special are the Reapers.

Reapers so far, has not been killed once.

There are more Mutated around, which more will appear as the days pass by.

For the record, the weapons listed in the chapter all came from Modern Warfare 3. I don't know if Japan would have some of these guns, but bear with me.

Enough rambling about this now. Please review your thoughts and questions about the Mutateds or the characters. Also, feel free to criticize. Reviews will be answered. Criticism will be acknowledged. Flames will be pointed at and laughed at.


	2. A Dying World

**Alright, the next installment to this series. I made a **_**tiny**_** mistake of having two Mutated called Jumpers. The pack Jumpers and the uncommon Jumpers. As a result, the pack Jumpers will be called by their alternate name; Jumping Wolves.**

**Anyways, read on.**

**Disclaimer: Jin Kobayashi is fortunate enough to own the School Rumble series. However, I do own the Mutated.**

**XoXoX**

**Chapter 2: A Dying World**

**Yakumo: **Usually once every month, three small groups would go to the surface to bring back supplies. Even in this mutation, children; usually ten and younger, would still run around, oblivious to what is happening to this world. I find it sad, that they may never see the sun again. Along with the mutation, came a fog that would effectively block out the suns rays, thus making plant life wilt under the days. One group would be in charge of getting food. Another group would bring water. The last would get anything to amuse others with.

**Day 45**

XoXoX

_"Yakumo! Help us!" Tenma's voice called out under the screeching of the Mutated._

_Kurasuma would also be seen in the background firing a weapon. Tenma would run for cover every now and then. A Mutated, not seen before, appeared. Carrying a lantern and a bell, it would ring its bell, causing Tenma and Kurasuma to lower their guard, even with Kurasuma dropping his gun. They fell onto their knees as the Mutated floated towards them, raising its lantern. A stream of light would appear from both Tenma and Kurasuma, after a few minutes of doing this, they began to age quickly. Beyond the age, came dust._

"Tenma!" Yakumo shouted as she sat up quickly from her bed.

Seeing it was just dream, she gave a sigh of relief, but she gathered her blankets around her and held her knees to herself, shivering.

"Another nightmare." She muttered to herself quietly.

A knock came upon the door and it opened, revealing Serah in her nightgown still, "Yakumo?" Serah called out. "I heard you calling out. Are you alright?" She asked.

"Oh Serah. I'm fine. Sorry for waking you." Yakumo apologized, looking at the alarm clock which showed 4:33 am. She then lowered her head.

Serah then walked towards her and sat on her bed, "I can tell your not fine..."

"No, I'm fine, really." Yakumo cutted, looking up to try to show reassurance.

Serah then gave a little laugh, "Your so easy to see through." She commented and cleared her throat, "Look, I know how you hate to be a burden to others, but in this world, your going to want all the help you can get." She pointed out, putting a reassuring hand on Yakumo's. "You really think we don't hear you crying every night?"

Yakumo then looked up puzzled, "We?"

The door then opened in which Akira and Harima walked in. Harima's scar has noticably healed, but still left its mark.

"Harima?" Yakumo called out in surprise, "Shouldn't you be out of bed yet?" She asked.

Harima shrugged his shoulders, "I've been in bed for two weeks straight. About time I move around." He answered.

"It's not only us who hears you. Imadori, Eri, and Fiyuki hears you as well. Your fortunate that Hanai has his room across the chamber, otherwise we'd have to deal with him too." Akira pointed out.

"Look, I know your worried about Tenma. She's the only family you have left in this world." Serah replied, "View it this way, Post-Apocalypse, she was your only sister. Now? We're all family." She implied, raising her arms towards the other two occupants.

Yakumo then gave a little smile, "Thank you."

"Now, tell us. What keeps upsetting you?" Akira asked.

"It's just...I keep on having a dream. Not the same dreams, but all of them has Tenma and Kurasuma calling out for help." Yakumo explained quietly, "The end of the dream usually has them falling victim to a Mutated." She added, starting to hold herself tighter.

"Tenma and Kurasuma?" Harima muttered to himself quietly.

"Your saying you have this every night?" Serah asked, which was answered with a nod, "Now don't call me skeptical, but perhaps it is a message." She added, which caused all eyes in the room to stare at her.

"Maybe they are calling for help." Akira pointed out.

Yakumo stared at her, "Do you really think so?" She asked. She wanted to believe it, but at the same time, it torn her. If the dreams were calling for help, which the dreams would end with their deaths, maybe the messages were arriving late.

"Perhaps, but let's not jump to conclusions." Akira added.

"As of right now, you can come to us for your problems." Serah reminded with a smile.

Harima then stretched his arms, "That's right. As of right now, I'm treating you all like my little sisters." He announced proudly.

Yakumo choked a bit on her own saliva, Akira excused hers with a cough.

Akira then turned, "I'm going back to my room." She announced before leaving.

Yakumo then got up and left her room, "I'm going to the kitchen." She replied before leaving the room.

Serah shook her head amused, "Wrong choice of words, Kenji." She pointed out mockingly before leaving.

Harima scratched the back of his head confused of the sudden departure, "Was it something I said?" He shouted out, but this fell on deaf ears.

**Time: 12:00 pm**

Yakumo remained in the kitchen all morning with a laptop looking over an article on the internet. Despite being underground, they were able to manage to get a slow internet connection. They use this to try to find more settlements, A month and a half of searching, they weren't able to find any. That came up with two conclusions. One: They are the last settlement and therefore the last humans alive. Two: They hoped that they just weren't able get the connection desired for such a thing.

Just then Harima came in with a tray of food and sat next to Yakumo, "Find anything of interest?" He asked before settling for what could be prison food, although it could be worse.

Yakumo only shifted aside for room and nodded, "Nothing as of yet. I hope that they can't establish a connection rather then them being dead." She answered, still scrolling about through the pages.

Harima only muttered something unintelligent and continued to eat.

"For the last time, I'm not having sex with you just because it's the end of the world." Mikoto's voice occured as she and Akira entered with Yoshidayama and Nara following behind.

"But Miko..." Yoshidayama called out.

Mikoto then backhanded him and he fell back. "Of all the people in the world to survive this and it had to be you." She muttered quietly.

Nara then kneeled down to the young man, "Do you really have to be that desperate?" He questioned curiously.

Akira stared at Yakumo and Harima quietly. She never thought she would feel jealousy, but she envied Yakumo for being able to get so close to Harima with ease. She cursed herself for being so distant at her younger life, but then again, she never counted on the Mutation to change life this drastically. She quietly sat next to Harima and ate without a word.

Mikoto was unaware of Akira's sudden infatuation with the man the whole time, so she didn't find it odd that Akira would sit next to him. She sat down still muttering about Yoshidayama's. "Anything yet?" She asked Yakumo who shook her head silently.

"I may have something to help us determine the location of other settlements." Akira popped up, earning glances from the characters in the room. Seeing all attention on her, she pulled out several papers and on the cover page was a picture of a helicopter.

"Project Cafe?" Harima called out reading the title.

"I was in the coffee room when I came up with this, so Project Cafe." Akira explained snarkly, "Anyways, this thing absorbs air current and converts it into energy that makes it run and power up a camera I've installed in the helm." She explained, handing papers towards Mikoto, Yakumo, and Harima.

In the background, Nara and Yoshidayama was currently fighting over the last donut in the background.

"Anyways," She continued, oblivious the the antics of the two in the background, "With it, we can watch its footage and point out the location of other settlements." She finished up her project summary.

"This is the part where you say but, if, or however, right?" Mikoto pointed out.

Yoshidayama was thrown across the floor as Nara grabbed the donut and attempted a run until Yoshidayama tackled him.

"However" Akira added, with Mikoto making a little sound of satisfaction, "It runs on air, as stated. As such, I need to get up high, where the air is more active and ensure a sure take off." She finished up.

"And your going to ask for help?" Yakumo guessed. With her active ability to read minds of those infatuated by her, she was able to strengthen it and could read almost everyone's minds a little, usually what they were about to say next.

"That's right. I was going to ask for Harima's help." Akira replied.

"Then I'm coming too." Yakumo revealed suddenly, causing the others; Yoshidayama and Nara as exceptions, to stop eating and looking at her.

"You can't even fire a gun. You sure?" Mikoto pointed out.

Yakumo gave a deep sigh, "If it means helping finding the location of my sister, then yes. I'm sure." She answered sternly.

All seriousness of this conversation ended when a donut came landing in the middle of the table. All eyes looked at it for a second before turning their eyes to the source.

Nara and Yoshidayama looked awkwardly as the attention was shifted to them.

"You two coming?" Akira asked.

"Uh, sure." Nara agreed.

"I can't. Tae wants to check on my scar at 3:00." Yoshidayama refused, then looked towards Harima, "Which reminds me, Tae told me to tell you that you have a check up at 2:30." He added.

Harima muttered another unintelligent word at the reveal.

"So Harima, will you help me?" Akira popped in.

"Yeah, sure. Suspended from duty for two weeks, I need some excercise." Harima agreed.

Mikoto then leaned on her elbow, "Might as well count me in too." She included herself in the group.

Akira then stood up, "I'll go prepare everything. We'll leave at 3:00" She replied and left the room.

"I'll go practice at the firing range." Mikoto pointed out, leaving the building.

Harima then brightened, "That's right. I remembered I promised to help you practice firing a gun." He remembered and stood up.

"But I'm..." Yakumo tried to protest, but Harima grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"No buts, you've been in here all morning." He cutted. Remembering the donut in the middle of the table, he grabbed it, observed and took a bite leaving behind two young men looking quite sad

**Firing Range - 1:30pm**

Harima and Yakumo stood in the gunnery which had various guns as expected, including Launchers and prototype weapons that could possibly violate many laws just from its creation, but at this time, it was excused. Yakumo kept to herself more so then usual as she felt out of place in the area.

"Now I know how you hate to get up and close so I think long range combat would suit you." Harima pointed out and opened a gun case that had several snipers. "So you should try using a sniper." He added.

Harima stepped aside and let Yakumo choose a sniper. Just standing in front of it made her feel uncomfortable. She looked at the snipers left and right, there she saw a sniper that she thought looked appealing, so she grabbed it and observed it.

Harima then stepped up, "The Dragunov. A single fire weapon with ten rounds in a magazine. The recoil isn't too high and what lacks in power, it has incredible range and potential to two shot enemies of the human brand. Fortunately for you, there's no humans to kill. Unfortunately for you, it may take more then two shots to kill a high leveled Mutated." Harima explained the benefits of the Dragunov and grabbed two extra magazines to train with.

Yakumo still held onto the gun while Harima looked through various equipment and eventually pulled out a scope and a type of blade with a trigger. While Yakumo still held onto the sniper, Harima equipped it with the scope before moving onto the barrell of the sniper and placed the blade in reverse on the gun. Yakumo was no expert in shooting or close combat fighting, but she was certain that the blade was supposed to point away from the user. That is until Harima pulled the trigger and the blade swung open and pointed away from the gun. Harima then pulled the blade back in and placed the trigger back in.

Harima looked at Yakumo again, "The blade is for close combat if Mutated are able to rush in towards you, unless you want to equip an ACOG scope to sacrifice range for favor of close combat." He replied and turned around, "Come on, let's get you to the firing range." He announced and led Yakumo out.

Once outside, they were immediately met by Mikoto, Asou, and Itoko practicing their aiming. Yakumo covered her ears at the loud sound until Harima gave her a set of earmuffs and goggles which she immediately equipped. Harima pointed out to a spot which was specifically designed for snipers, which had a more distant target. When reaching their destination, Harima made Yakumo go prone for better accuracy.

Seeing the new arrivals; Mikoto, Asou, and Itoko stopped their firing to confirm who they were. Seeing them, Mikoto went back to firing, although Asou and Itoko couldn't tear their eyes off the girl they least expect to practice for firing. Although considering the state of the world, they should have expected it to happen sooner or later, but still.

"Okay, your in a position called proning. This is an ideal position for snipers as it can allow them to have better accuracy and a lower chance of being detected!" Harima shouted through the muffs they had on and pointed out towards a target in the distance. "Look into the scope and try to shoot the target!" He added before pulling out binoculars to see her progress.

Listening to his words, Yakumo looked into the scope to see the target Harima pointed out towards. She stared at the target for several seconds not doing anything out of fear of the gun. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger although it didn't move. She kept on trying to pull the trigger down, but it didn't move a budge.

Although Harima kept looking through the binoculars waiting for either a hole to appear or a cloud of dust, Itoko came sitting on the opposite side of Yakumo and placed her finger on a lever and moved it, presumably taking off the safety. "Kenji didn't tell you of the safety mechanism?" She worded out, which Yakumo faintly looked down then back into the scope.

Not noticing her actions, Harima continued to stare into the binoculars.

Now with the safety removed, Yakumo pulled the trigger. Although the safety was taken off, she still had difficulty pulling it. Never the less, the bullet escaped the sniper and missed its target? She then wondered how she missed when she knew that she was aiming exactly at it.

Harima then spoke up, "It was the sway! Even though your lying perfectly still, unless you have a steady hand, you will sway and shooting a target would be difficult!" He continued to shout, now taking a moments glance of seeing Itoko watching with a smile. He then shook his head and placed an arm over Yakumo; which Itoko easily noticed her tensing up, and placed his hand over hers on the trigger. He then noticed that the gun was at an angle, which affected her aiming, which he proceeded to look near the scope and shift the gun at the right angle. "It is a common tatic for snipers to hold their breaths when aiming in a scope. Take a deep breath and shoot at the target." He adviced and removed his arm from her and went back to looking through the binoculars. Itoko laughed at the sight, although it was muffled through Mikoto's and Asou's gunfiring.

Finally feeling relieved if not disappointed, Yakumo took his advice in and took a deep breath and aimed at the target again. After a few seconds of holding her breath in and aiming, she pulled the trigger, which successfully shot the target in the middle. Seeing the accomplishment, she let out her breath in a deep sigh and continued to breath heavily for air.

Harima let out a smile, "Nice one, now let's see if you can empty the clip without missing." He challenged, which Yakumo took a moment to think and shrugged her shoulders and took another deep breath.

**Combat Room - 2:15 pm**

Yakumo still held onto the Dragunov in the middle of a two-floor room while Itoko was on the second floor and Harima around the sides. "Umm, what are we doing here?" She asked.

"Testing your reflexes." Harima answered simply.

"Testing...my reflexes?" She called out, but without another thought, Harima pulled a lever which caused a sandbag to launch towards her. Taken by suprise, the sandbag hit her and sent her onto the floor with the sandbag on her.

Walking towards her, Harima moved the sandbag off and helped her up. "Yes. Your reflexes." He finally answered.

"I wasn't expecting that." She answered as she got onto her feet.

"And the Mutated will take advantage of that. More so for the ones that can leap at you or swing down at you. You might want to put the blade to use." He explained and walked away.

Looking at the blade attachment, she pulled the trigger and the blade swung out with a click.

At that, Itoko pushed down a sandbag attached to a rope that swung at her. Another suprise attack, but she moved the blade at the sandbag and it ripped through, although the momentum sent her stumbling back, losing her grip and dropping the gun which still held onto the sandbag.

Harima walked out with another smile, "Good. Although you might want to strengthen your grip so you don't drop it. Even if you successfully stab a Mutated, its momentum may still knock you down. More so if they are Jumping Wolves or Blind Assassin's." He explained, grabbing the sniper out of the sandbag.

Itoko then decided to have fun and threw another sandbag down which hit Harima in the back of the head and caused him to fall face first. "You want me to shoot you?" He threatened as he shot back onto his feet.

"You couldn't snipe me even if I was three feet in front of you." Itoko called back.

Before Harima could respond, Yoshidayama walked in, "Ah, there you are. Tae wants to see you now." He mentioned.

Harima then grimaced and tossed him the Dragunov before leaving the room.

**Medical Room - 2:45**

"Alright Hario. You can button up your shirt now, I'm done." Tae replied.

"Already?" He called out, starting to button his shirt. He then got up and proceeded to leave.

Tae then looked at him, "So I hear you were training Yakumo to battle the Mutated." She called out, putting her supplies away.

Harima then put on his jacket and paused a while, "Surprising, isn't it? Given the state of the world, well we should have seen it coming." He answered simply.

"Let me ask you something." She called out and motioned Harima to sit down, "Now it's been a couple of years already, but how do you feel about Yakumo?" She asked straightforward.

Harima then looked in deep thought after taking a seat, "Honestly? I feel safe around her. Even standing or thinking about her, I still believe that hope still exists in this world." He answered honestly.

Tae gave a little smile, "I know what you mean. Even with the state of the world, she still pertains her innocence." She replied, "Then let me ask you this, what do you think she thinks about you?" She asked.

"What she thinks about me?" Harima wondered. He never even thought about that, but then again, he didn't really have time to think of anything given on how often he's called into missions. "All I know about that is what she told me." He answered.

"And what is that?"

"That I remind her of Tenma." He added.

Tae then gave another little laugh, "I wonder why?" She pointed out sarcastically. In more ways then one would be the best way to describe what Yakumo meant of that statement.

Nara then poked his head in the room, "There you are. Akira's wondering if your ready to go." He mentioned.

Tae really wanted to ask more about his relationship with Yakumo, but didn't feel like persisting in the matter, "Then I guess I'll see you again after your mission." She stated.

"What? You think I'm going to get myself injured again?" Harima asked in sarcasm.

"Wouldn't be an understatement." Tae mocked again.

"I'll show you." Harima answered before leaving the room.

Tae gave another little laugh, "We've come so far." She replied to herself pulling out a photo of Class 1-D from a few years back with the lights flickering on and off.

**Elevator - 3:00pm**

The team consisting of Akira, Harima, Yakumo, Mikoto, and Nara stood on the elevators readying their weapons as they rose to the surface. Being just two; give or take months, the facilty being built underground was a last ditch attempt on survival and surprisingly going well. Every few hours the lights would be flickering on and off with some equipment having technical difficulties, but they assumed that it is just because they are underground.

Mikoto adjusted the strap on her FAD and removed the safety, "Hey Akira. Before we go, is there anything else you should tell us?" She asked.

Akira adjusted the bag holding _Project Cafe_ on her back, "Just that there is a good chance that we'll be facing entirely new Mutated." She answered simply.

"Such as?" Harima asked over his back.

"We discovered two Mutated that targets specific genders, so we shouldn't split up." She added in her simple tone.

"Specific genders? You don't mean that creepy child we encountered last month?" Harima added and immediately noticed Akira tensing up, in which he just looked ahead and adjusted himself, "Guess that answers that." He added quietly.

"Answers what?" Nara asked.

"Earlier in the Mutation, me nad Akira were assigned nightwatch. While rather boring with mainly commons attacking, we did encounter one Mutated. I don't understand much of it and I don't think Akira would want to talk about it. Just don't let it catch you unguarded." Harima explained quickly.

Nara then looked ahead, noticably distressed.

"We're near the surface. Get ready." Akira popped in.

At that, everyone adjusted their guns.

**XoXoX**

**Kenji Harima: Next time on Cry of the Planet**

The team exitted the chamber and into the dead and destroyed streets of Tokyo.

Yakumo raised a hand to her mouth, "The Mutated did this in just the span of two months?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Nara answered and continued to walk.

"Which building are we going to climb?" Mikoto asked.

"How about that Manga Building you used to submit your manga before?" Akira asked.

"You drew manga?" Mikoto and Nara asked somewhat astonished.

"Maybe we should. But it's most likely home to Mutated now." Harima answered.

As they walked within the building, they were immediately attacked by canine-like creatures.

"What are those?" Yakumo asked.

"The ones that are black as night. We call them Nightblade Pumas." Akira answered as Harima blocked a strike from its sword-like wrist with his own blade. Just then he was hit by a blast of fire, "The white ones, we call Albino Lobos. They developed the ability to breath fire and other such things." Akira answered as Harima got up and dodged out of the way as an ice shard passed by.

For the first time in a long while, Akira finally had fear struck in her eyes as her hand was grabbed by a child with dark hair, "Are you my mother?" The child asked as a portal behind it opened up.

Yakumo shoved a corpse of her with a couple of shots, "That has to kill you." She replied frusterated as the Mutated laid dead.

**XoXoX**

**That's that. I kind of wanted to add the mission in this chapter, but I eventually added more in the chapter. Next chapter will contain the mission.**

**Sorry for the wait those who were waiting, but my writing hasn't been too bright at the moment. In fact, you could probably find some typos in here, please ignore them.**

**The preview is made in such a way that the scenes change randomly.**

**I'll try to hurry with the next chapter, but no promises.**


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